crossposted. If youve been following along you know that Ruby and I have been working through Dr. Karen Overalls Relaxation Protocol. A more detailed post about it is here, and today I thought Id share a few things that Ive learned so far: It takes more than fifteen days. Unless your dog is not the anxious, hyper-vigilant type that actually needs this kind of work, dont be fooled by the Fifteen Day protocol. The exercises are broken down into days, and each day into tasks. Ruby and I have been on Day 3 for thirteen attempts now. Last night we would have finally completed it except that I dropped a piece of food on the floor midway through and wasnt quick enough with my leave it. Bring on attempt fourteen! Dont be intimidated. The tasks look tedious and daunting. You might read ahead and think no way could my dog sit still while I ring the.DOORBELL. Thats exactly why the Relaxation Protocol is set up the way it is. BABY STEPS If you need even smaller baby steps, make them. If 10 seconds is too long, do 7 seconds. Break the days in half and do mini-sessions. I do think that different terminology would help the work seem more appealing. I would like it if the Days were called Phases instead. Sometimes doing nothing is harder than doing something. Ruby seems to have the most trouble with the long WAITS where I am not utilizing a distraction. The longest so far is 20 seconds, and that was often the breaking point. She is perfectly fine with me jogging backward, jogging left, jogging right, clapping, walking around her, but stay in place while I stand there and stare at her? Not so much. (I dont actually stare at her, and Ive been experimenting with eye contact and calming signals such as deep breaths, blinking and yawning to encourage her to relax). Set your dog up for success. Ive learned when to bust out the pink mat and when to work on something else. Ruby needs to have at least some exercise beforehand. She needs to be interested in food but not overly hungry. I close the dog gate between the kitchen and living room since we havent arrived at WAIT while the cat runs by in the tasks yet. Certainly, eventually the goal is to add external distraction, but on the first time through the environment should be as controlled as possible while you are both learning how to navigate the protocol. Dont give up. As I said, were a month into Day 3, and for a while I dreaded our sessions because Ruby was having such a hard time with the seemingly simplest things. Then I decided to buckle down and work on it at least every other day, and it got better. Ruby stopped demand-barking at me, she started putting her head down, and last night for most of the session she was laying in her little S-curve where she has one front leg and the opposite hind leg stretched out and the other two legs tucked under. Even though well be revisiting it in different parts of the house and eventually outside, I think were going to turn the page to Day 4 very soon.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:03:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015